Emily Tapscott Clark

I have sometimes mentioned Tapscotts who achieved notoriety owing to "skallawagery" (a noun I just invented). A good example is dear old Samuel Tapscott.  But there were also Tapscotts who were prominent in a good way. One of those was Emily Tapscott Clark, daughter of Nannie Tapscott and William Clark. From the Encyclopedia Virginia:

From Encyclopedia Virginia.

Emily Tapscott Clark was a writer and the founding editor of The Reviewer, a Richmond-based literary magazine that helped spark the Southern Literary Renaissance—a movement in southern letters that turned away from glorifying the Old South in sentimental narratives (by such writers as Thomas Nelson Page) and instead moved toward writing about themes of race, gender, identity, and the burden of history in the South. While Clark caused some uproar in Richmond society with the publication of Stuffed Peacocks (1927), a set of thirteen satirical character sketches with a biting introduction about the city of Richmond itself, she is known primarily for her contributions to and nurturing of the evolution of southern literature in the 1920s and 1930s.

Emily’s father, William Meade Clark, was for many years the rector of St. James Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia. Her mother, Nannie Douglas Tapscott, was a descendant of Capt. Henry Tapscott, the wealthiest and most socially prominent of Henry the Immigrant’s three sons.

The Daily Star, Fredericksburg, Virginia, Fri 7 Nov 1924

In 1924 Emily married Edwin Balch, a prominent Philadelphian explorer, mountain climber, scientist, and author. Emily was around 33 at the time (her birthyear, which she varied, is uncertain) and had not been married before. Edwin, on the other hand, was a 68-year-old widower. A 1924 news article describes the wedding as being between two prominent families, though some of the claims are a little questionable.

When he died shortly afterwards in 1927 (the same year his wife wrote her most famous book, “Stuffed Peacocks”), Edwin Balch left $1.16 million, worth over $21 million today.

The Philadelphia Inquirer, Fri 3 Jul 1953.

When Emily died in 1953, having lived as a widow for over a quarter century, obituaries were published in twenty-three newspapers. One is shown here.

The Spurlington Witch

A witch in the family?

The Legend of Nancy Bass

Stories of Nancy Bass have been passed down through families in Taylor County, Kentucky. According to local legend, Aunt Nancy stumbled upon Jesse James and his gang while they were burying gold and silver in the Spurlington Tunnel. However, upon seeing her, they allegedly killed her and buried her above the tunnel. Since then, Nancy has become a haunting figure associated with the tunnel.

The Spurlington Tunnel

The Spurlington Tunnel was built in the mid-1800s as part of a 31-mile rail line from Greensburg to Lebanon. It took seven years to construct, with the excavation primarily consisting of blue limestone and a ledge of black flint. The tunnel spans 1,900 feet and features a 100-foot shaft hole in the middle to release exhaust from passing trains. 

The Witch’s Curse

Nancy Bass (drawing by Wesley Durham, 1974).

Legend has it that Nancy Bass was not an ordinary woman. She was believed to be a witch. It is said that she could make tables levitate and would cast spells on people if they did not do as she wished. She was not a particularly dangerous witch. Nobody died. But, if she disliked a family their children would come down with mysterious illnesses, their crops would fail, their milk cows would go dry and all kinds of misfortunes would befall. And it is said that her spirit now haunts the Spurlington Tunnel. Anyone who enters the tunnel or searches for the buried treasure is said to fall under her curse. Locals have long speculated that the hidden treasure remains somewhere within the tunnel, waiting to be discovered.

Despite the lack of a grave marker, Nancy’s legend persists, and her spectral presence continues to cast a chilling shadow over the Spurlington Tunnel.

A Tapscott Connection

And who was Nancy? Well she’s my second cousin three times removed. Her great grandfather Josiah Bass Sr. was my 4th great grandfather. Josiah Bass’s granddaughter Susan Bass married Henry Tapscott of Kentucky and the two founded the Tapscotts of the Wabash Valley [see Henry's Children ]. Confused? So am I. Perhaps this will help.

A witch in the family? Perhaps.

Henry's Children, 2nd Edition

 

I still have a few hardbound printed copies of the first edition of Henry's Children, The Tapscotts of The Wabash Valley. Nevertheless, I have written a second edition, which is more detailed and provides additional clarification. Besides, I needed something else to do. I'm only working on two other books. Since there is always a chance that this second edition will never be printed (I am 85 years old after all), I am making available digital (pdf) copies of the book.

To get a free electronic copy just click on the link below. You don’t need the Dropbox app. If you get a "Log in or Sign Up" message just ignore it. Press the download button at the top of the web page. You will then get (another) "Log in or Sign Up" message. Just click "Or continue with dropdown only" at the bottom of that message. You need not log in or sign up. It is not necessary to be a Dropbox user. Leave a comment or send me an email if you have problems.

Henry's Children, Download

As the sole author and copyright holder, I am granting downloaders an OK to distribute this digital copy to anyone they wish at no charge. No exceptions.

Questions or comments about Tapscotts or about how your line fits into those discussed in the book? Email me. There is nothing I like more than discussing family history.

And if you would like a hardbound, printed copy of the first edition, contact me.

Henry the Immigrant, Digital Version

 

As many of you know, no more hardbound printed copies of Henry the Immigrant, The First Tapscotts of Virginia, remain. For that reason I have been making available digital (pdf) copies of the book. The 2nd edition includes the first four generation of the Tapscott line (counting Henry as first-generation), with names of fifth-generation descendants given in the text).

To get a free electronic copy just click on the link below. You don’t need the Dropbox app. If you get a "Log in or Sign Up" message just ignore it. Press the "Download" button at the top left of the web page. You will then get a small popup window saying “Log in or sign up” Do neither. At the bottom of the small window there is a bar that says “Or continue with the download only”. Press that bar. The entire book should download onto your computer. Leave a comment or, better yet, send me an email if you have problems.

Henry the Immigrant, Download

As the sole author and copyright holder, I am granting downloaders an OK io distribute this digital copy to anyone they wish at no charge. No exceptions.

Questions or comments about Tapscotts or about how your line fits into those discussed in the book? Email me. There is nothing I like more than discussing family history.

The Policeman who Arrested a President

 Going from a waiter to a DC policeman and, eventually, to the Mounted Squad of the Metropolitan Police was quite a transition for Robert Tapscott. Robert joined the police force the year after marrying Mary A. West. Was there a connection? Indeed there was.

William, Evening Star, Washington, DC, 27 Sep 1908.

Mary West was one of seven children of William Henry and Catherine A. (Bowie) West. In Sep 1842 William had been born a slave in Maryland, and during the Civil War had served in the Union Army. By 1894, when Robert married West's daughter, Mary, William Henry West had been a DC police officer for almost 23 years. William had joined the Metropolitan police force on 23 Aug 1871, and spent most of his career in the Mounted Squad. At the very least, William provided Robert an example of a policeman's life. And William may have talked his son-in-law into making the career move and then helped him along.

Not only was William Henry West, Robert Tapscott’s father-in-law, a cop, he was a famous cop. He was, and still is, the only policeman in history to arrest a sitting American President. And he was a man of color, not the first to be on the DC police force, but close to it.

William was the opposite of what his son-in-law, Robert Tapscott, would be. Robert was congenial and socially active. In today’s world he would be a member of the office drinking-fountain clique, discussing sports, or in Robert’s case, horse shows and drill events. William, on the other hand, was aggressive and pushy, attributes that got him into conflicts now and then. It was not that William was a bad cop. In fact he may have been a more effective policeman than Robert. But William did not get along well with his colleagues or with the community, as did Robert.

Evening Star, DC, 1918

Just a year after he joined the DC police force, William arrested President Ulysses S. Grant for driving his horse-drawn carriage at high speeds through DC streets. The story is well-known so there is no reason for us to repeat it here. (See, e.g., Arrest of a President.) And it was detailed in the 27 Sep 1908 edition of the DC Evening Star, many years after the occurrence.

As we noted William had a knack for not getting along with others. A 9 Nov 1899 Washington DC newspaper article stated

Officer West has been under charges a number of times, and accusations made against him a few weeks ago when he was thrown from his horse and injured have not been settled. . . . A number of times the officer has been warned and reprimanded, while on other occasions he was acquitted when tried on charges.

The article went on to report that William was being “dismounted” (removed from his Mounted Squad duties). In an action that would not improve family relations, William's vacated police position was to be filled by his son-in-law, who was described in the article:

[Tapscott] has been doing duty in Lieut. Kenney’s command, and because of his good record his name has been mentioned several times in connection with promotions.

William Henry West retired from the DC Police Force in 1901. His wife, Catherine, died just four years later. William passed away in the DC 6 Sep 1915. His son-in-law, Robert, would work another decade as a Washington, DC mounted officer.

Robert the Mounted Policeman

Robert Tapscott, was born 18 Feb 1863 in Fauquier Co, according to his death certificate, which shows him to be a child of Virginia “Tappscott.” Strange about this is that he appears in neither the 1870 nor 1880 census. But, of course, Ann Virginia Tapscott, daughter of Telem Plato and Robert’s apparent mother, is also missing from the 1880 census.

By 1889 Robert was living in Washington, DC, working as a waiter, and there, on 28 Jun 1894, he married Mary A. West, District of Columbia born and bred. Then, the following year, he joined the DC police force,

Robert started out as a member of the respected Eighth Precinct, as noted for its showmanship as for its crime prevention. In 1898 Robert was a member of the Eighth Precinct drill team that won the right to carry the Wight Trophy flag down Pennsylvania Avenue in a parade of policemen and firemen, which passed in front of President McKinley.

Washington Times, 8 Nov 1898. (Red oval added.)

Then in 1903, Robert, now in the Ninth Precinct (where, for the most part he would remain), won second prize and an award of $25 in the Mounted Policemen’s Contest at the DC Horse Show. Robert and his black gelding “Frank” were members of the Mounted Squad, a position he would hold through the rest of his career.

Washington Times, 8 Nov 1903.  Pvt. Robert Tapscott was one of the mounted officers in this photo.

Robert was a highly respected officer. In 1906 he was moved from the Ninth to the Tenth Precinct, a move that was met with opposition from Ninth Precinct Citizens. According to the 4 May 1906 edition of the Evening Star,

Tapscott is said to be an excellent officer, has the good will of the white residents of the ninth precinct and is thoroughly familiar with affairs which concern the police in that section of the city. It was decided by unanimous vote to ask Major Sylvester to send him back to the precinct.

And in an Evening Star article published 24 Dec 1907

Capt. Charles E. Schrom . . . highly commended Policeman Robert Tapscott for his action in stopping a runaway horse December 16 at the risk of his life. According to the fire department captain the horse was attached to a delivery wagon and was running down Maryland avenue northeast at breakneck speed when Policeman Tapscott, who was mounted, gave chase. Tapscott, it is stated, leaned from his horse after catching up with the runaway and turned the frightened animal into 15th street northeast, brining it to a standstill. According to Capt. Schrom the corner of 54th street and Benning road was crowded at the time with pedestrians and teams and a serious accident would have doubtless been the result if the runaway animal had not been stopped.

Robert and Frank. (AAHA, Fauquier Co.)

In 1913 Maj. Richard Sylvester, Superintendent of Police, commended several policemen for meritorious service. One those was Robert Tapscott.

Being a mounted policeman was not without its dangers, though most were from riding through city streets rather than from crime. Robert was involved in several spills, one of which was being bumped from his horse by an automobile in 1919. Robert, who was bruised on his face and head, ended up suing the driver.

In 1921 Robert was once again in the news for being a winner in the Police Contest at the horse show. Sometime after 1926 Robert retired with a pension that was $100 a month in 1930 (about $20,700 a year in 2023 currency.)

Robert, and his wife, Mary (often called “Mamie), had no children of their own, though they are shown with a 6-year-old “stepdaughter,” Roberta Tapscott, living with them in Washington, DC, in 1910. Neither Roberta’s origin nor her denouement are known. Over the years Mary and Robert had several family members or family connections intermittently staying with them.

Robert returned to the Fauquier Co Cedar Run district, where his mother, siblings, and Plato grandparents had lived. That is where he died, 8 Sep 1946, and where he was buried, in the Poplar Forks Church Cemetery. Mary, who lived another thirteen years, dying on 15 Nov 1959, is buried alongside him.

Mamie (Mary) and Robert, with Robert’s second cousin Fannie Mae Tapscott and her husband William Colvin, c1922, DC. The kids are presumably Fannie and Bill’s two first born, William and Tomasha. (AAHA, Fauquier Co.)

Our tale does not close here. You may have noted that Robert became a policeman just a year after marrying Mary. As we will see in our next blog, there is a probable reason for this. And that will introduce us to another, and possibly even more interesting DC policeman.

Richard (“Hard”) Chichester

Our third Richard Chichester was married twice—to Anne Gordon, in Lancaster Co, Virginia, on 9 Jun 1759, and to Sarah McCarty, sometime after 1765.

Richard’s first wife was born in 1743 to James and Millicent (Conway) Gordon. Irish-born James Gordon was a wealthy Scotch-Irish merchant with numerous ties to the Lancaster Co Tapscotts.

According to his Lancaster Co journal, on 23 June 1761 James Gordon spent the night with “Mr. Tapscot” (Capt. Henry Tapscott, son of Henry the Immigrant). The next day, Gordon recorded that, “Mr. T. went with me to Mr. Chichester’s before breakfast.” “Mr. Chichester” was Richard (“Hard”) Chichester. Following James Gordon’s death in 1768, Capt. Henry Tapscott was one of those chosen to divide the estate.

Richard’s second wife, Sarah, was a daughter of Daniel McCarty, a Revolutionary War soldier, and Sinah Ball. Like her mother-in-law, Ellen (Ball) Chichester, Sarah was related to George Washington. Sarah McCarty’s grandmother Sarah Ball, Daniel McCarty’s mother, was Washington’s second cousin. In fact Sarah McCarty was the grandniece of her mother-in-law, Ellen Ball. Multiple relationships were common among the Balls.

Mount Air Plantation House c1960, where Richard lived
and died, suffered fires over the years and is no

 longer extant. (Edith Moore Sprouse, Mount Air.)

Richard and his second wife settled in Fairfax Co, Virginia, living in the Mount Air plantation house, which had been owned by the McCarty family for generations. Richard’s 1793 Fairfax Co will listed his six multiply-named (Southern-style) children—Sarah McCarty, Richard McCarty, Daniel McCarty, Sinah Ellen, Mary Syms, and Doddridge Pitt—three daughters and three sons.

Richard Chichester presented a fabricated appearance of respectability. It was said that

[He had] acquired the reputation of an accomplished hypocrite, owing to his extra airs of piety. . He was even accused of that species of gallantry technically called “flirting with a wench.” He had long been known among his equals as St. Richard and among the vulgar by the less euphonious, but not less expressive, sobriquet of Pious Dick.

But these odious behaviors were nothing compared to Richard’s malicious attributes. Richard had a reputation for treating his slaves badly. He is said to have placed an ad in an Alexandria paper for a runaway weaver named “Immanuel,” who was described by “His back and arms much scarred with the whip, proceeding from his uncommon villainy.” But any “uncommon villainy” was Richard’s.

A codicil to Richard Chichester’s will states

Whereas it occurs to my mind, that it may so happen that some of the slaves I have in my will bequeathed, or devised unto my beloved wife, Sarah Chichester may be induced to run away from her service, in order to perplex and distress my said wife – Therefore to prevent such an evil I Do then in that Case give and bequeath unto my said beloved wife, full and complete power and absolute authority to sell and dispose of any, and every one of said slaves, that shall violate the laws of the land and their duty

Find a Grave.

Richard’s nickname “Hard,” given by many biographers may be due to his cruel treatment of slaves. On the other hand, Richard’s gravestone in the Chichester Family Cemetery in Lorton, Virginia, is broken and the “RIC” is missing from his name. The stone reads “SACRED To the memory of …HARD CHICHESTER.” Which came first, the nickname or the broken stone?

Richard died a wealthy man. In his will, he bequeathed over three thousand acres in Fairfax and Fauquier counties to his heirs, along with livestock, plantation equipment, and 126 slaves. He even had some property back in old England, in Colchester, and a copy of his will was filed with the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, England.

Two of Richard’s children ended up with Tapscott descendants—Richard McCarty and Doddridge Pitt. We will take a look at the descendants of each, though the Doddridge Pitt line produced the greater number of Tapscott descendants, primarily due to Doddridge’s grandson, William Doddridge Chichester, who did his best to increase Virginia’s population on his own.